360 days ago, I took a break from blogging, to focus on writing and editing my Screenplays and also work on a few documentary projects.

But alas, the big Monster is back that is the Toronto International Film Festival and it’s the 40th Anniversary. So It’s a little hard to ignore. And since last season I saw Justin Long turned into a Walrus, this year I want to see Colin Farrell turned into a *Lobster* (winky face)…

The UK’s ‘go to’ character actor Timothy Spall gets his own light in “Mr. Turner”, directed by Mike Leigh.

While Cannes, Sundance, Telluride and TIFF fight over policy and premiere status, the good news is for audiences is that around 30 films from Telluride this past weekend and Cannes festival in May and Sundance, will premiere to Toronto audiences at the 39th Annual Toronto International Film Festival starting today.

What TIFF doesn’t really get is that most cinephiles don’t travel all over the world to see films at other film festivals. This is mainly what film festival programmers do. So no matter where a film has premiered outside of the country of Canada before, it’s still a premiere to Toronto audiences.

According to the TorontoStar.com:

TIFF’s new policy states that all films playing during the fest’s first four days, from Thursday through Sunday inclusive, must be either be a World or North American premiere. Films failing to meet these criteria will screen in the last week of the 11-day event.

Cannes Winners coming to TIFF that I highly suggest are:

MR. TURNER (UK) director (the incredible) Mike Leigh cast (the incredible) UK character actor staple, Timothy Spall in the ultimate “Art film” where Spall shines brilliantly in this biopic period piece that starts in 1826 about J.M.W. Turner, one of the greatest English landscape painters of all time. Timothy Spall won the Best Actor prize at Cannes for his outstanding performance.

LEVIATHAN (Russia) director Andrey Zvyagintsev Won Best Screenplay at Cannes and is the story about a proud patriarch fighting to protect his family home from a corrupt local official in post Soviet Russia.

FOXCATCHER (USA) director Bennett Miller won for Best Director at Cannes in May. He also directed “Capote” (2005) and “Moneyball” (2011). It stars Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as brothers in the true life story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz, whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont and brother Dave Schultz would lead to unlikely circumstances. It also stars Anthony Michael Hall, Steve Carell and Sienna Miller.

MOMMY (Quebec, Canada) director Xavier Dolan won the Jury Prize, and an extended standing ovation, at Cannes for his latest feature.

Other films on my list include:

AN EYE FOR BEAUTY / Le règne de la beauté (Quebec, Canada) According to TIFF: Romantic drama becomes a means for a sharply observant societal critique in the new film from Academy Award winner Denys Arcand (The Barbarian Invasions), about a married Québécois architect who embarks upon a torrid love affair with a young Toronto woman. While many critics say the story doesn’t live up to the usual ‘Arcand’ standards, the film should still be heads above a bad ‘Canadian’ film.

A LITTLE CHAOS, (UK) director Alan Rickman also stars as King Louis XIV in this historical drama of the female landscape-gardener of Versailles played by Kate Winslet. This is Rickman’s 2nd feature that he directed. His first was 17 years ago, “The Winter Guest” starring Emma Thompson.

A SECOND CHANCE / En chance til (Denmark) director Susanne Bier. This is the 2nd film from Denmark on my list this year. Bier directs this story that asks how far would decent human beings be willing to go, when tragedy blurs the line between just and unjust?

BOYCHOIR (Quebec, Canada) director François Girard who directed “Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould” and “The Red Violin”. Two of my favorites. This family friendly film stars Dustin Hoffman who had his directorial debut last year at the age of 76 with “Quartet”. Hoffman also stars in the highly anticipated “The Cobbler”.

CAKE (USA) director Daniel Barnz gives Jennifer Aniston her “Blind Side” role as the acerbic, hilarious Claire Simmons who becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group. While I am NOT and never will be an Aniston fan, I’m as curious as the next person to see her in this film which didn’t have the best start in pre-production. The film also stars Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, William H. Macy and his lovely talented wife, Felicity Huffman.

COMING HOME (China) Director Yimou Zhang who helmed the excellent “House of Flying Daggers” (2004), directs this script from novel turned screenplay about a Chinese man who is forced into marriage and flees to America, but when he returns home, he is sent to a labor camp. It stars the lovely Li Gong, and the dashing Daoming Chen.

EDEN (France) director Mia Hansen-Løve. Felix de Givry, Greta Gerwig, Pauline Etienne star in this underground dance music film which traces the rise of the French electronic-music boom in the 1990s and the DJ who’s credited with inventing “French house” music. Music in the film includes Daft Punk, Joe Smooth and Frankie Knuckles.

FOREIGN BODY / OBCI CIALO (Poland) Director Krysztof Zanussi – According to TIFF: A dashing young Italian in Poland finds himself caught between two women — a novitiate nun and a ruthless corporate ladder-climber — in this lacerating vision of contemporary Poland.

GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM / GETT, LE PROCÈS DE VIVANE AMSALEM (Israel) directors Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz bring you a riveting and timely courtroom drama where in Israel there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce. Only rabbis can legitimate a marriage or its dissolution. But this dissolution is only possible with full consent from the husband, who in the end has more power that the judges. Viviane Amsalem has been applying for divorce for three years. But her husband Elisha will not agree. His cold intransigence, Viviane’s determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the judges shape a procedure in which tragedy vies with absurdity, and everything is brought out for judgment, apart from the initial request.

ITSI BITSI (Denmark) director Ole Christian Madsen (Flame & Citron) directs this 1962 countercultural romance based on events where Peace activist Eik Skaløe meets Iben and falls head over heels in love, but when Iben refuses to commit herself to one man, Eik tries to win her over by transforming from poet to writer, nomad, junkie and eventually lead singer in the destined-to-become-legendary band STEPPEULVENE.

LIFE IN A FISHBOWL / VONARSTRÆTI (Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic) director Baldvin Zophoníasson presides over an intriguing, According to TIFF: multiple-narrative drama that follows three people — a struggling single mother, a former athlete trying to scale the corporate ladder, and a once-acclaimed author turned full-time drunk — whose lives intersect in surprising ways.

MAGICAL GIRL (Spain) director Carlos Vermut conducts a stylish noir thriller about the father of an ill girl who tries to obtain his daughter last wish, the dress of the main character of a Japanese TV series.

MAY ALLAH BLESS FRANCE ! (France) director Abd Al Malik is a French rapper, author, and spoken word artist. This is his directorial debut with this adaptation of his 2004 autobiography, chronicling his upbringing in the crime-and drug-ridden streets of Strasbourg and his life-changing encounters with hip hop and religion.

NIGHTCRAWLER (USA) director Dan Gilroy. Two words. Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s a down and outer who stumbles upon the underground world of L.A. freelance crime journalism. This film also brings back Rene Russo who we haven’t seen in quite awhile

SHELTER (United Kingdom) the directorial debut of actor Paul Bettany. I’m recommending this as a study more than a powerhouse outing. Bettany was born into a ‘theatre family‘. His maternal grandmother, Olga Gwynne was a successful actress, his maternal grandfather, Lesley Kettle, was a musician. Bettany’s father, Thane Bettany, is still an actor, his mother, Anne Kettle, now retired, was an actress. Bettany’s older sister is a writer. I want to see what he can do first hand… besides being almost transparent eye candy. Bettany has also (of course) cast his wife, actress Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie who I think does some pretty good work.

SPRING (USA) directors, co-editors Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead serve up a love story, horror, romance with a supernatural twist when an American backpacker (Lou Taylor Pucci, “Evil Dead”) while in Italy, falls in love with a beautiful young woman harboring a dark “primordial” secret, played by the stunning German actress Nadia Hilker. Well, I know Italy doesn’t have moors, so there goes that guess.

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER (USA) directed by Nick Broomfield this documentary delves into a cold case about a notorious serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper,” who terrorized South Central Los Angeles over a span of twenty-five years. The man thought to be the suspect was incarcerated in 2010, but the ongoing investigation has stalled because as the premise surmises, the suspect is black…

THE LITTLE DEATH (Australia) director Josh Lawson. I’ve had an on-going love affair with Australian films. There’s a quirk and a darkness that’s similar to films from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, but still a very distinct and different voice. This dark, sex comedy is another multi-story narrative: A woman with a dangerous fantasy and her partners struggle to please her. A man who begins an affair with his own wife without her knowing anything about it. A couple struggling to keep things together after a sexual experiment spins out of control. A woman who can only find pleasure in her husband’s pain. A call centre operator caught in the middle of a dirty and chaotic phone call. And the distractingly charming new neighbour who connects them all.

THE ELEPHANT SONG / La chanson de l’éléphant(Quebec, Canada) director Charles Binamé has a goldmine on his hands with actor, filmmaker Xavier Dolan who plays Michael, a troubled psychiatric patient.

THE GOLDEN ERA / HUANG JIN SHI DAI (China) director Ann Hui. According to TIFF: The prodigious output of Chinese essayist and novelist Xiao Hong, long overshadowed by the careers of more established male writers in her literary circle, has only recently been discovered. Directed with both authority and grace by Ann Hui, The Golden Era bridges the gaps and tells the story of an exceptional life marked with tragedy and the signs of genius, Hui’s film is a wondrous reflection of China’s turbulent 1930s.

TOKYO TRIBE (Japan) According to TIFF: Midnight Madness favorite Shion Sono (Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, winner of the 2013 People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award) (which I absolutely loved) ventures even further into uncharted cinematic territory with this yakuza-street gang-hip hop-musical epic. Avoiding the usual fresh young faces of Japanese films, Sono chose to cast real rappers, tattoo artists and stunt performers in many of the main acting roles, a rebellious move that brings vibrancy and freshness to his outlandish street-fighting epic.

WETBUM (USA) director Lindsay Mackay in her directorial debut is getting a lot of buzz on her first outing of a story about Sam is a self-conscious yet stubborn 14-year-old girl who, like many teenagers, is searching for a place to belong. After landing herself into trouble, she is forced to work as a cleaner in the retirement home run by her mother. In between shifts at the home, she tries to find solace in the only place she can, the pool, but it becomes the place where deepest insecurities collide with her raging hormones.

WHIPLASH (USA) director Damien Chazelle has had my attention since Sundance where he won both the Audience Award and Grand Jury prizes on this film about A young musician played by Miles Teller who struggles to make it as a top jazz drummer under the almost masochistic tutor J.K. Simmons (Law & Order, Oz)

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (New Zealand) director Taika Waititi (Boy, Eagle vs Shark) and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) co-direct and star in this hilarious mockumentary about a trio of vampires living in a New Zealand suburb who struggle to adapt to life in the 21st century.

WINTER SLEEP / KIS UYKUSU (Turkey) director Nuri Bilge Ceylan who won the Palme D’Or and the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes, brings us a drama set in central Anatolia about a small-town innkeeper whose cultural pretensions and smug self-satisfaction are fatefully undermined over the course of an eventful winter.

You know every year since I’ve been doing this list I always promote world cinema and steer clear of Hollywood films that have distribution and are going to hit theaters in the next 3-4 months. But sometimes you have to break that rule. Here’s why in 2014:

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (USA) director Maya Forbes cut her writing teeth on The Larry Sanders Show and as a co-writer on Monsters vs. Aliens (09), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (12). A little surprised this is a Gala event. Given this is based on her family growing up and a writer should always write what they know, this may be a good choice. But a Gala…? Mark Ruffalo plays a loving husband and father struggling with manic depression, who is forced to raise his two young daughters on his own. Mark Ruffalo, J.J. Abrams also serve as executive producers. Did I mention it stars Mark Ruffalo…?

THE JUDGE (USA) director David Dobkin. Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall respectively play a defense attorney father and a judge in this tight legal drama, where they also play father and son. This is a film loaded with ‘acting chops’ when you also figure in co-starts, Billy Bod Thornton, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vera Farmiga, and Jeremy Strong.

MAPS TO THE STARS (Canada / USA) director David Cronenberg with a satirical drama about a Hollywood family chasing fame and and trying to come to grips with ghosts from the past. While the film itself may not be great, the performance of Julianne Moore is. Moore won the Best Actress Award after its Cannes premiere. The film got its theatrical release in France on May 21 right after Cannes. It also stars Robert Pattinson(yes he can act) and John Cusack. Right now the buzz is Moore may lose a shot at an Oscar nod, because Focus World, who acquired the United States distribution rights will not be giving it a theatrical release until 2015. All Oscar contenders have to screen before the end of November.

THE COBBLER (USA) director Thomas McCarthy is an actor turned director, with some pretty impressive outings helming, The Station Agent (2003) and “The Visitor” (2007) both exceptional films with an indie feel that garnered tons of award nominations, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Richard Jenkins. McCarthy himself won the BAFTA (UK equivalent of the Oscar) for The Station Agent and nominated for and Oscar for “Up” in 2010. The Cobbler which opens in USA theaters September 11th, stars Adam Sandler as the Cobbler, Dan Stevens, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Buscemi, Ellen Barkin and the incredible Marlon Brando meets Billy Bob Thornton-esque actor Glenn Fleshler who played the villain Errol Childress in “True Detective”.

The 39th Annual Toronto International Film Festival runs September 04-14. For Programs and Tickets, please Click HERE.

I woke up this morning feeling a little weird. Happy that tonight’s the night for the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Yes, tonight, Monday. And not the usual Sunday.The live broadcast from the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, with host Seth Meyers starts 5:00PM PT, 8:00PM EST on NBC.

True Detective is up for Outstanding Drama Series against Breaking Bad. But since it will return for a 2nd season (albeit with a different story and cast), I hope Breaking Bad takes home this prize as it will never have another chance.

We shall see. It’ll be hard to say Goodbye. Join me on Twitter for all the Emmy festivities and “selfie spoofs”.

On June 7th, the entertainment world was stunned to hear funnyman Tracy Morgan was involved in a fatal car crash, killing one and critically injuring Morgan and others. Many originally though it had something to do with Morgan driving.

Not so. It was a WalMart employee, now revealed to be tractor-trailer driver, 35-year-old Kevin Roper who was “awake for more than 24 consecutive hours,” who allegedly nodded off at the wheel and crashed into Morgan’s limousine bus, as Morgan was returning from a show at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Delaware. Morgan’s limo was overturned by the collision with Roper’s 18-Wheeler on a New Jersey Turnpike.

Following the accident, Roper, was charged with one count of death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.

A rep for Walmart said in a statement that the company is “committed to doing the right thing for all involved.”

“This has been a terrible tragedy. We wish Mr. Morgan, Mr. Fuqua Jr., and Mr. Millea full recoveries,” the statement reads. “Our thoughts continue to go out to them, their families and friends, as well as to the families and friends of everyone involved, including Mr. McNair, who lost his life. We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved. As we’ve said, we’re cooperating fully in the ongoing investigation. We know it will take some time to resolve all of the remaining issues as a result of the accident, but we’re committed to doing the right thing for all involved.”

7 Years of Good Luck…? Ellen Degeneres Returns to Host The 2014 Academy Awards

I for one am excited For Ellen Degeneres to host the Oscars – despite the fact that anyone would be better than say…Whoopi Goldberg…

Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the Oscars for the second time tomorrow Sunday, March 2nd and I think she’ll be a hit. She’s timely, funny, engaging and there’s very few people who’ll be angry with her if she makes fun of them because she’s found a balance between being snarky and kind.

It’s been 7 years since her last stint

According to Beth Hanna – Parade Magazine:

Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres sat down with Parade Magazine days before the big show to discuss all things movies and Academy Awards, including why her initial reaction to hosting for a second time around was “no,” on her decision to not dance on the Kodak stage, on being the inspiration for current Oscar nominee Sandra Bullock’s 1999 hit “Miss Congeniality” and more. Interview highlights, below.

On why she initially said no to hosting the Oscars again (her 2007 hosting earned her an Emmy nomination):

“Everybody who works with me thought I was crazy. But the person who lives with me—Portia—was on my side. She thought, ‘I don’t need to go through this, either. She’s gonna be stressed.’”

“I’m not going to be dancing. I dance on my show. I don’t think people need to see that every time I do anything.”

On beating out Jennifer Aniston for the supporting role in 1999’s “EDtv”:

“Jen Aniston is my friend and she recently reminded me that I beat her out of that. I got the part and Jen Aniston didn’t! That’ll probably be the only time that happens.”

On being the inspiration for the film “Miss Congeniality”:

“Miss Congeniality was written based on me. When I was getting ready to cohost the Emmys, the writer saw me [on TV] learning how to walk in a dress and heels. My stylist at the time—a man—was teaching me, and it was hilarious. The Miss Congeniality writer saw it and thought it was brilliant.”

On maybe taking on an occasional dramatic film role:

“Okay, I’ll do that. Put that I’m available for small roles. If they give me the right one, I promise I’ll be nominated for an Oscar, if not win… You know what? I can tell people that on Oscar night.”

The mainstream category nominations for the 56th Annual Grammy® Awards were announced back on December 06, 2013 during “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!”, hosted by rapper, actor LL Cool J with some satellite and pre-taped performances by Robin Thicke, Lorde, Katy Perry and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to name a few.

Last night, the Screen Actors Guild Awards® gave out many of the right trophies, especially in the Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor categories, where respectively, Jared Leto won for his remarkable change in appearance and character for his role as “Rayon” in “Dallas Buyers Club“.

Some of the ‘Right’ Winners – Screen Actors Guild Awards® 2014

Leto shared his award with the “the Rayons of the world”, and said after his win, “The epidemic isn’t over. There still is not a cure (for AIDS).”

Lupita Nyong’o (finally) won a ‘Best Supporting Actress’ award for the bittersweet historical drama “12 Years a Slave.” Nyong’o beat out award season favorite and (over saturated) media darling Jennifer Lawrence who was up for her supporting role in “American Hustle“. So today, I’m a little happier than I was after the Golden Globes®.

Mexican born, Yale educated Nyong’o has won 19 awards for her role as “Patsey”, but they’ve mostly been Film Critic Awards. This is her first top tier award, which bodes well for her at the Academy Award® ceremony in March.

Here’s the kicker – – this is only Nyong’o’s 4th on-screen role. Her acceptance speech hit a very poignant, emotional chord when she said in part:

“Being recognized by your fellow actors is an honor of the highest order,”. She then attributed her director Steve McQueen, “for taking a flashlight and shining it underneath the floorboards of this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”

Deservedly, Matthew McConaughey took home ‘Best Actor’ for his near-to-best career performance in “Dallas Buyers Club”. To prepare for his role as reluctant AIDS activist “Ron Woodroof“, McConaughey lost between 38-51 pounds. After winning his award, McConaughey said, “There’s a real benefit to being hungry. All the power I lost, I gained from the neck up.”

If you remember, McConaughey received his very first Oscar nomination this past Thursday. Over the last 9 years, all ‘Best Actor SAG Winners’ have won the Academy Award®.

My pick for ‘Best Actor in a Lead Performance’ has been, since the Sundance Film Festival, the outstanding Chiwetel Ejiofor for his role as “Soloman Northup” in “12 Years A Slave“.

I will be somewhat broken-hearted if Ejiofor loses, as I’ve been following his career since “Dirty Pretty Things (2002) for which he won a BAFTA® Award (the UK equivalent to the Oscar) and have been waiting for his star vehicle performance to get him to the Oscar’s in a lead role. Ejiofor should have won for his supporting role as Huey Lucas in “American Gangster” (2008) but he was snubbed across the board for other top tier awards.

McConaughey’s career has been on the upswing in the most dramatic way since he got back to his acting roots in 2011. First with the understated “The Lincoln Lawyer” and then with his outstanding, dark and sexy-beast performance in “Killer Joe”. I wanted McConaughey to win for his role as “Killer Joe Cooper” because up to that point it was his career-best performance. But then he followed that up with “Mud” (2012) and you just knew there was a lot more where that came from. Even McConaughey’s role in “Magic Mike” (2012) was exceptional, funny, slightly dark and a little wonderful.

By the way, I just want to remind everybody that “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013) is directed by Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallée. And, even though he is responsible for two Oscar-nominated performances from lead Matthew McConaughey and supporting actor Jared Leto, Vallée has been almost entirely snubbed all award season for a Best Director nod, until last Thursday when he was finallynominated for Best Director for an Academy Award®.

“American Hustle”, the award season darling took home the award for ‘Best Ensemble Cast’.

According to Dave McNary at Variety:

The 20th SAG Awards provided mixed signals since the “American Hustle” cast won over “12 Years a Slave” and “Dallas Buyers Club” — which won three of the four individual acting awards — along with topping with “August: Osage County” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” The winner of the SAG ensemble trophy has matched the Oscar Best Picture winner nine times in 18 years, including last year with “Argo.”

TV SAG Awards:

My two favorites, “Breaking Bad” and “Modern Family” each took home two awards. “Modern Family” won ‘Best Comedy Ensemble trophy. Always hilarious cast member Ty Burrell won the ‘Best Actor” trophy, finally beating out Alec Baldwin who was looking for his 8th win for “30 Rock.”

The unstoppable, immensely talented Dame Helen Mirren won for ‘Best Actress’ in a TV Mini-Series or Movie for “Phil Spector” which she should’ve also won at the Golden Globes and not Elisabeth Moss. another reason why I’m happy today. 🙂

Michael Douglas won the ‘Best Actor’ in a TV Mini-Series or Movie Award for “Behind the Candelabra” (2013) in his eerily inspired role as flamboyant pianist “Liberace“. As with his Golden Globe® Award win, Douglas continued to credit to his co-star. “The truth is, I am not here without Matt Damon. This is yours too.” The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh,

“Breaking Bad” completely crushed the important drama series categories, winning the ‘Best Ensemble In a Dramatic Series’ award. At least Anna Gunn gets to walk away with a well-deserved award after being snubbed by almost every other TV award granting body except for The Emmy’s for which she won only in 2013 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series as her character “Skylar White”. For without her, there would’ve been no reason for Walter White to even exist.